Flesh, Blood and Bone
by Taranea
Summary: No, this is NOT about Yami Bakura having fun. But he´s here.  Yami is forever unable to physically touch and help Yugi and Yugi sees how much that hurts the spirit. So, one evening at Hogwarts, he presents Dumbledore with a  very unusual idea...slight YYY
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Screw the rules, I´ve got green hair.  
Unfortunately, I don´t even own this quote, much less any of the characters mentioned in this story.;)

**Author´s note or  
Where I Screwed Around With Canon:**  
Well, this is a scene that could be featured in most of your standard YugiohHP crossovers. As for how they got there, please just choose your own favourite story, or alternatively, bug **Lizeth** to update. Takes place during sort of the sixth and seventh book mashed together, except that Dumbledore has not been fatally injured. Let´s just pretend that the old chap had been the teensiest bit more careful with that ring, k:)

* * *

„Sir?" 

Albus Dumbledore turned around, saw nobody and raised an eyebrow, before the voice spoke again.

"Eh, down here, professor…"

The headmaster inclined his head, recognized the small student before him and smiled. "Yuugi! You are still here? I think the last of your Gryffindor classmates are just about to leave the great Hall, and you, of all people should be trying to get some sleep."

The small boy tried to suppress a yawn and failed. It was true. The last few weeks _had _been rather harrowing for all of them, and he had the distinct suspicion that the only thing that kept him from falling over at this moment was the thin stream of energy flowing out from the puzzle around his neck. Yami protecting and helping him at all times as usual.

Ryou behind him looked just as haggard and Harry had actually nodded off a few times and landed face first in the pumpkin soup while they were still having their meal and were listening to the speeches.

Nevertheless, it was an evening of victory. Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard ever to taint the earth, had fallen at the hands of the Boy Who Lived.

There were no more Horcruxes to raise him again.

The Shadow Magic of the Millenium item holders had prooved to be a most valuable asset and the ancient powers Voldemort had been seeking were in the end used against him.

Now the Great Hall was decorated in the colours of the four houses and framed, lifesized portraits of the students, teachers and members of the Order fallen in the fight hung from the walls in commemoration on this evening, the black cloths behind the teacher´s table reminding everyone that the happiness was streaked through with mourning. There had been laughter and tears all night.

Yuugi yawned again and wobbled slightly, trying to focus himself on what he was trying to say. This was important. He opened his mouth and swayed, seeing from the corner of his eye the transparent hand of Yami reflexively reaching out to steady him at the elbow. It passed right through and the concealed pain in the spirit´s crimson eyes at his inability to be physically there for his Aibou reminded Yuugi sharply why he was even here and staring up at the great silver beard.

"Professor, I´ve been meaning to ask you something…"

"Yes, Yuugi? I´m all ears."

Ryou touched his friend lightly on the shoulder. "Eh, is it all right with you if I go up to the dormitories already? I´m really tired and Bakura is starting to get grouchy…he doesn´t like his body not to be well rested, he says."

The star haired boy sighed. The spirit of the Millenium Ring had gotten a lot more cooperative during their time at this school, (which maybe could have had slightly to do with Dumbledore´s impressive and trusting personality, that had apparently influenced even the Tomb Robber) but Yuugi still didn´t like the fact how Bakura still seemed to claim Ryou´s body as his own and overtook it whenever he wanted.

All the more reason for his request, then. "Do you think you could stay just a little bit longer? I kind of would like you to hear this."

Ryou hesitated, then stared into space as if he was listening to a voice only he could hear and when he winced at what apparently were a few choice swearwords by said voice, Yuugi knew it was okay. If Bakura had truly disagreed, then Ryou would probably be in the Ring already, with his far more sinister counterpart stomping towards the Ravenclaw tower.

Now, with all the attention of his two (four) listeners focused on him, Yuugi started again.

"I have been talking with Hermione about the history of Lord Voldemort."

Dumbledore nodded. "And now you have a question concerning him?"

The petite duelist swallowed. "Kind of. She said he had been a bodyless spirit for eleven years."

"That is correct." Dumbledore´s expression was now unreadable and Yuugi couldn´t tell whether the old wizard already knew into what kind of direction the conversation was heading.

"But he kept sort of alive, because his soul was bound to certain objects."

"_Aibou, where are you going with this?" _Yami asked through their mind-link, worried because he could feel waves of nervousness and anxiety flooding Yuugi´s half of their soul. The younger boy ignored him, however, and as the pharaoh tried to peer into the thoughts of his partner to find out, he found himself gently but firmly shoved out. Apparently his aibou didn´t want him to know just yet and so Yami was listening apprehensively along with everybody else. Tearing down Yuugi´s mental walls was out of the question, of course.

"Again, yes. But up until now you haven´t asked me your question." The headmaster replied, his eyes now showing honest curiosity.

"Sorry, Sir. I- I am getting to that. Harry later told me that two years ago Voldemort managed…with the assistance of his servant, who sacrificed his arm for it, and the capture of Harry, he managed to…to…"

"Yuugi, this is ridiculous!" Yami had appeared in physical form, as soon as Yuugi´s idea had reached their shared conciousness. Almost instantly he was gone again, however, as Yuugi forced himself back in control. "No it´s not!" he shouted, his voice reaching even the Pharaoh in the puzzle who was just getting to his feet again, "Voldemort´s state was just like yours! And just like him, you can get your body back!"

Shocked silence followed his words, only broken by a soft rustling of bangs as "Ryou´s" hairstyle shifted ever so slightly towards pointyness.

"A…body, you say?" Bakura´s deep tone was hoarse, but excited.

"Yeah." Yuugi tried to glower at the thief. "Just so you know, this is not for your but for Ryou´s sake. I can´t stand to see you taking over his body against his will all the time."

Standing invisible next to him in spirit form, the smaller white haired boy smiled. He could sense his yami´s sudden surge of joy and for some reason that also made him…happy…

Their relationship had really become a lot better during their time at Hogwarts, Bakura even sometimes grudgingly complimenting Ryou when he was excelling at one of his subjects, such as ancient runes and divination in particular.

"This is a very dark branch of magic you´re referring to, Yuugi." Said Dumbledore, his tone serious and lacking the amusement it had held before.

"Y-yes, sir, I kind of had guessed that, but-"

Wide, worried violet once more flashed back into fierce crimson.

"Aibou. Don´t even think about it, this is madness!"

Yami was physically pushed aside roughly and staggered.

"Speak for yourself, Pharaoh. I am very interested, so I want to hear what the little runt has to say."

The surprise of the shove allowed Yuugi to regain control easily.

"No, it isn´t, Yami. Besides, you want it, too, don´t you…" "I…" the spirit hesitated and Yuugi smiled sadly. Try as he might, the Pharaoh had never been able to conceal his emotions from him if Yuugi reached out for the other part of his soul with all his heart. He was living empathy and all of Yami´s defences crumbled to dust when Yuugi really tried.

"_I just want to make you happy, Yami…and Ryou, too."_

"_Aibou…"_

There was worry. There was unease because the spirit obviously felt that it was not right to employ this kind of magic. There was guilt, too – did Yami think that he didn´t _deserve _hisown body because he had already died? Yuugi also sensed a pull of duty and confusion and thought that Yami probably didn´t know in which form he would be able to protect him best…and there was also, in one of the corners of the maze that Yami desperately tried to guard the most – a spark of exitement, a tiny ember of longing and the wish to finally feel again…

"_Don´t lie to me."_

Yami cursed himself for his weakness and Yuugi spoke again.

"…but, isn´t there a way? I had hoped that there wasn´t _real_ evil magic, more like that its nature depended on the user…that´s how Shadow Magic works, I think…"

The Pharaoh winced. He had never told Yuugi what he had done when he had first emerged from the puzzle…

Shadow Magic was dark. It was dangerous. It was like himself.

But then, would some more dark magic actually make a difference? He could be there for Yuugi, could maybe actually comfort him when he cried….and could go into battle without endangering the body of the one he had sworn to protect.

The thoughts were so tempting.

Dumbledore gave him a long stare. Finally he said: "What do you think of this, Yami?"

The spirit form of the Pharaoh appeared instantly, surprised. Once again, the headmaster´s piercing blue eyes were staring right at him through their half-moon spectacles, as if they could actually see him.

_Could they really?_, Yami sometimes wondered. He´d very much like to know, but somehow 'How many fingers am I holding up?' didn´t seem like the kind of question you´d ask the old wizard.

"He is reluctant." Yuugi spoke for him. "But I know he really wants to."

"_Please, Yami. I would so much like to see you smile…"_

"Is that true, Yami?" Dumbledore asked again, not unkindly. The Pharaoh hesitated before slowly giving the tiniest of nods – still not sure whether anything of him was actually seen by the man before him.

"Hey, and what about me? I want my own body, too! Don´t just ignore me!" Bakura had taken a step forward and was glaring.

Dumbledore turned around and looked at the white-haired youth, with an invisble Ryou in the background cringing at the spirit´s rudeness. The headmaster of Hogwarts didn´t say anything, but his stare alone seemed to be enough to show the thief that he had overstepped some kind of line – Bakura dropped back into a less aggressive stance and folded his arms, trying to pretend indifference.

"I mean, this is about me, too, right? I want a say in this." He continued, no less blunt, but his tone suggested a little bit more respect. (Also, his lower lip was strangely protruding, but you wouldn´t call it a 'pout' – not unless you wanted to wake up with a smaller amount of fingers than you went to bed with, at least)

"I was going to ask you too, Bakura." Dumbledore said, his tone neutral but nevertheless managing to make the spirit drop his eyes for a second. "Please tell me your opinion."

"I…would like to have my own body very much." The words seemed to come out through gritted teeth as if the teen absolutely _hated_ having to ask for something – but that alone showed how important the issue was for him.

Dumbledore gave the other boy an equally long stare and didn´t say anything. Finally Yuugi spoke, if only to break the silence.

"Please, sir? I mean, Yami actually offered up even our puzzle, his _soul,_ as a prize when he engaged Voldemort in that Shadow Game trying to win back that locket Horcrux. He was prepared for a fate worse than _death_ to help you!" Yuugi pleaded.

"Of the worthiness of your partner there is no question." Dumbledore replied, "Even if I have my concerns about our other, white-haired friend here…"

"Hey! I stole that snake right from under his nose, you have no right…!"

But the blue eyes were twinkling and hope surged through Yuugi. Maybe…

"We´d do anything!" he tried again and Bakura in the background looked more than eager, but Dumbledore held up a hand.

"It´s not as easy as you´d think. And even if I´m talking about this now, nothing has yet been decided. Apart from needing quite the complicated potion for the procedure itself, there are three very rare ingredients needed for its completion…"

Yuugi swallowed. He had avoided thinking about that part until now and couldn´t help himself but clutch his right wrist protectively.

"_No, Aibou."_ Yami´s voice cut through the mind-link and this time it sounded as hard as diamond, _"I admit that you can make me do a lot of things that I otherwise wouldn´t even consider, but there is __**no**__ way of me **ever**__ letting you hurt or cripple yourself for my sake." _

He turned his head to glare at Bakura, who he knew could see him and added acidly:

"And the same goes for you, too, Tomb Robber. Don´t even **think** of getting anywhere near Ryou with a knife, no matter **how** desperate you are. We are dead and have no right to demand this from the living."

"Dead or not, you still got a broomstick up your arse. Kill-joy." Bakura muttered under his breath, but still wondered whether he would have actually done it. Lately he had felt rather…reluctant to let any harm come to his weaker half…he would be horrified to admit he felt actually _protective_ (that was reserved for moronic heroic Pharaohs), but still…it was close.

Whether or not Dumbledore had followed the full exchange (apart from frowning at Bakura´s rather surprisingly good grasp of offending English) he spoke again after the spirit of the ring had finished.

"I am not sure whether it would work. I shouldn´t tell you this." He sighed. "But then again, if there ever were people who had a reason to know, it would probably be you.

The three ingredients needed are, and I quote, 'The bones of the father, the flesh of the servant and the blood of the enemy'."

"There is absolutely no reason for Tomb robber to look so exited at that last part. I told you, this is madness."

But Yuugi noticed that the voice of the Pharaoh was lacking a lot of its former strength and resolve. He coughed.

"So…is there a way to get these things?"

"That, Yuugi, would be entirely your task. I don´t think I could be of much help. Also, don´t forget that you have yet to convince me to agree to this at all." He said, his tone now once again cool and distant. He faced the two boys once more and his eyes were now positively X-raying them.

"Well?" he prompted.

"…we would use our bodies to protect." A clear voice said, and it was obvious that Yami had once again assumed control. "That is why we were brought into this world. I think even the Spirit of the Ring is starting to realize this now."

"I also have a name, you know?" Bakura interjected testily, but the Pharaoh didn´t let this distract him.

"But there are forces attacking us from all sides, demons and humans hungry for the power of the items. Lord Voldemort was just one of many. And while they are hunting for _me_, it is often Yuugi who gets hurt, when I…fail." He had obviously been struggling with the last word, but now his speech flowed more easily.

"It is the same for both of us. We are very protective of our partners and just as we are tainted, they are innocent. Therefore, I ask you to help us with this to shield them from harm."

Yami inclined his head slightly and closed his eyes, and as they were opened again, one could see that the spirit of the puzzle had once again withdrawn, never taking the body away from his partner for longer than necessary.

Bakura didn´t say anything, but there was a look in his eyes that suggested agreement.

Dumbledore nodded. "Very well."

---

Half an hour later, Severus Snape cursed his headmaster all the way to hell and back when he was woken up just to be told there were two cauldrons of one of the most complicated potions ever to be prepared.

* * *

**More to come, please stay tuned and leave me comment what you thought of the idea. I haven´t seen anything like this before, if you have, can you tell me? **

**If you read, please review, constructive criticism welcome as well:) **


	2. Chapter 2

„_I´m still not really sure about this, Aibou."_

"_Yes, Yami. You told me that just two minutes ago. And more than three dozen times during the last half an hour, to be exact." _Yuugi replied calmly, not really annoyed with his spirit, but more amused. Of course, he was exited, too.

"Is he _still_ not done? We´ve been waiting for a _week_ for him to finish this." Grumbled Bakura next to him, indicating with a loose wave the two giant cauldrons bubbling malevolently in the middle of the dungeon room they were in and the general mess of parchments and ingredients the surrounding surfaces were littered with.

"Well, everybody knows especially the powerful potions take a lot of time to prepare. At least, everybody who has been paying _attention_ does."  
Marik smirked as the thief glared daggers. He had the most knowledge of the three when it came to potions, and his placement in Slytherin had also ensured him the favour of the professor teaching the subject – apart from that, everyone was still wondering whether the good marks in his _other_ subjects were actually the work of the Millenium Rod in combination with sitting next to Hermione, or not.

"Still, it should be ready, I think Professor Snape said." Marik continued and glanced carefully into one of the violently foaming vessels, scrunching up his nose as the stench hit him, "Although I´m glad _I_ have to have no part in this."

(Dumbledore had of course offered him to give his yami a separate body as well, but the horrified stares he received from the trio at that point had soon convinced him otherwise. '_So_ NOT a good idea', as Marik had pointed out.)

The door opened and the headmaster strode in. He glanced at the three teenagers and the still busy potions teacher flicking through the pages of a book in the background and turned towards them.

"Good evening. I assume you have the ingredients?"

"Uh…"

"The first, as I recall, would be the '_Bone of the father, unknowingly given._"

Yuugi held up an envelope.

"My grandfather has a friend at the museum where Yami´s father is displayed as a mummy…"

He was aware of the raised eyebrow of the old wizard and felt utterly ridiculous as he continued: "…so does bone-dust count, too?"

"I think so." Dumbledore said after some hesitation and looked doubtfully at Ryou, who was once again back in control. "And what have you brought us?"

"_What is this, show-and-tell class?" _the spirit grumbled in the background, but Ryou ignored him and pulled out a small black velvet bag, from which he shook various white little objects.

"I-is that what I think it is?" Yuugi asked, staring at the things in the albino´s hands in horrified fascination.

Marik grinned. "Is that supposed to be a genuine 'Knucklebones' game? Dude, you´ve got some nerve…"

Ryou smiled nervously. "Most of them are just ordinary plastic. But you know I like some rather strange stuff, and, well, you know how my father worked for some time at a digging site in Egypt?"

They didn´t, but still nodded, wondering how on earth that could connect to Ryou carrying bones around with him for the fun of it.

"Well, some of those tools can be really _sharp._ My father realized this when he accidentally cut one of his fingers off."

"A-and then?!" Yuugi squeaked, already guessing what came next but still not quite able to believe it.

"Eh…he already knew that I had some slightly, uh, morbid tastes, _and_ he has a warped sense of humour. So when he realized in the hospital that it couldn´t be saved, he asked them to clean the bone and later sent me this Egyptian knucklebones game with his two pieces added – told me that that way 'a part of him would always be with me'." Ryou gave a tiny smile to his stunned audience.

"_First he sends his son a dead finger, later a homicidal spirit. I __**have**__heard of strange upbringing methods, but this-"_

"_I don´t think his father meant any harm, Yami. But now we know at least where Ryou got that streak in his personality." _

"I mean, it´s _my_ father´s bone and not Bakura´s, but it could still work, right?"

"It might. We shall see." Dumbledore said at last, while Marik was still throwing the bones up in the air and catching them, apparently enjoying himself.

"Well, this is at least one part of the ingredients taken care of. Now for the next item…_'Flesh of the servant, willingly given'_."

"And that is still the part where I disagree." Yami said, scowling, "I won´t let Yuugi cut his hand off for me."

The headmaster gave him an approving look. "I appreciate your concern, Yami, but I can assure you that this won´t be necessary. Pettigrew was trying to resurrect a very, very damaged soul and thus the ingredients had to be particularily strong. I can see that your two souls are still mostly whole and powerful, so we can resort to less gruesome measures. A lot less flesh will be necessary, since our potions master who is a lot more skillful than Voldemort´s servant," – in the background, Snape gave a snort – "can make more from less."

Yuugi exhaled. "That´s good to hear."

"But still," Dumbledore continued, "in your case it doesn´t matter. As I said, it has to be flesh from a servant, and what I´ve seen from your relationship does seem to indicate that you are on very equal terms, that Yami would even place your will before his own. So you can´t be the supplier for this particular ingredient."

While the small boy´s form visibly slumped at this, Bakura´s grin immediately assumed a more predatory quality. "But for me it would work, right? I mean, my other half was not much more than a puppet for me in Duelist Kingdom and Battle City!"

Dumbledore gave him a disapproving glance, somewhat draining the thief´s enthusiasm. "And had I not seen some considerable _change_ in your behavior since then you wouldn´t be at my school anymore. But even if this what you mention now lies in the past, we can assume that in your case it would still be enough. But of course, Ryou has to _agree_ to this, out of his own free will and not because he is afraid."

His last words hung in the air and the lighter half of the pair resumed control again.

"I will. He hasn´t been so bad lately, and I know he´s really _– _yes you are, don´t try to deny it now! _– sorry_ for some of the things he´s done in the past. He has apologized, and I have gotten stronger, too."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore replied and his eyes were twinkling again, obviously pleased.

Marik, who had started to snigger as soon as Ryou had shushed Bakura´s attempts to stop his hikari from spilling the beans, now piped up cheerfully.

"Yeah, he has, he´s getting better at fighting for control, too. I saw them one night when Bakura was trying to sneak into the kitchens – at the same time Ryou was trying to get back into bed and they kept running into walls and falling over stuff, it was hilarious. They woke up nearly half of the house elves until that creepy janitor guy came round the corner and he hot legged it back to his tower. Kept me amused the entire night."

Marik´s grin was now broad enough to swallow a cucumber square while Bakura looked livid with humiliation. That was something the Pharaoh really _didn´t_ need to know about.

His mood was by no means improved as Snape took off twenty points from Ravenclaw for 'Nightly Marauding' shortly after that.

The Egyptian by now was roaring with laughter and even Yuugi hazarded a small chuckle.

"What a coincidence that you remembered that just now." Bakura smoldered, adding: "But you know what _I_ just recalled? Pharaohs had a lot of servants. Tomb Keepers included."

Marik straightened up immediately, sobered. He adjusted his shirt unconciously and narrowed his eyes.

"Just what are you trying to say?"

"Exactly what you understood. If that idiot Pharaoh wants to have his own body back, he needs some meat from you." The thief said, a sly grin on his face.

An uneasy silence ensued.

Finally, Yuugi spoke. "If you don´t want to, Marik, then that´s okay." He said, even if there was a sad look in his eyes that suggested that it wasn´t.

The dark skinned boy looked away. "…fine, I´ll do it. After you saved my hide and sealed _him _back in the Rod, it´s only fair. Besides, I have the feeling that you´d just ask Ishizu otherwise, anyway." He sighed and gave Yuugi a wry smile. "But then we´re even, get it?"

"Sure!" the face of the smaller boy had lit up like a sunrise at those words and he´d nearly hugged Marik for it if they had been closer friends, before his figure shot up and Yami appeared, also giving the other teen a nod to show his thanks.

"Are you finished by now or not?" a grouchy Snape called out from behind one of the cauldrons. "The potions are ready and I have a feeling my time is being wasted for character development."

"In a moment, Severus." Dumbledore replied calmly, still looking at the his three young charges. Dealing with Harry, Ron and Hermione was so much simpler, he thought.

Less schizophrenia, for one thing.

"Well, you already know the last ingredient. '_Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken.'_ Who would that be then, in your case…?" he asked them and sighed when both Yami and Bakura immediately pointed at the other.

"I know you have been enemies." The headmaster said, "but the problem remains that the blood has to be taken against one´s will to be effective. If you agree to it it would be useless."

"Oh. Well, in that case…" Bakura reached into his pocket and pulled something out, that at first glance appeared to be a very dirty snitch but was then revealed to be…

"The Millenium Eye!" Yuugi gasped.

"Yeah. Still with Pegasus´s old blood on it, I might add. And Ra knows he didn´t give it very willingly…" he started to chuckle, but was stopped when he was aware of the looks everyone else in the room was giving him.

"Okay, okay. Oh damn, you are all sissies, you know that…"

And that was when Marik grabbed him from behind and used the dagger inside the Rod to slice his forearm wide open.

Bakura screamed, albeit more from shock than from pain. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" he howled and whirled around to hurl himself at the other teen, while Yami was preparing to take on Yami Marik once again.

But the Egyptian teen had only backed away to put a cauldron between him and the raging thief, and was looking at him mischcieviously while still holding the bloody blade.

"Just ensuring that the Puzzle spirit gets some blood from his enemy without your consent. Oh, and getting back at you for the servant thing." He smirked.

"I´M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!" Bakura roared, still clutching his bleeding arm and resembling ever more an enraged albino grizzly bear.

"I don´t think that will be necessary." Dumbledore said and sealed the spirit´s wound with a wave of his wand. He had whipped it out as soon as Marik had unsheathed the concealed dagger, but realized much sooner than everyone else the true intent of the assault.

"And I will ask you to watch your language more carefully while in the presence of teachers. Meanwhile, twenty points from Slytherin for 'Violent Assault', I think. We _do_ encourage our students to be creative, but not exactly in contexts involving knives."

Bakura mumbled something that most certainly would have gotten them in even more trouble had he said it louder, but grudgingly trailed his finger over the thin white line where previously his blood had flown freely. He shot a last dirty look at the still unfazed non-chalant Marik. "You are _so_ Shadow fodder."

The tanned boy shrugged. "Come on. You´re the guy who stabbed himself in the arm so he would have a convincing cover-up story to get into a card game tournament when he passed out from bloodloss. Don´t look at me as if _I_ was the crazy violent one."

"_Are you finally done yet?!" _

Snape, it seemed, was quite impatient.

---

Yuugi and Ryou stood nervously before the two cauldrons. The translucent liquid seemed to be very hot, the surface not only bubbling but emitting sparks, as though it was on fire. Steam was thickening, blurring the outlines of everything in the dungeon room.

Marik was watching from the sidelines with interest.

"What do we do now?" Yuugi asked the headmaster nervously. "Harry told me that, eh, Wormtail had Voldemort as a sort of ugly baby and dropped him into the potion…" he trailed off, hoping that this wasn´t a fatal flaw in the plan, seeing as Yami and Bakura had no hopes of becoming babies, no matter the beauty factor. The thought of a baby Bakura was slightly disturbing, anyway.

"You have to use that what signifies the presence of your spirits on the physical plane." Dumbledore replied, "Meaning, you don´t necessarily need a body for them, but your items will do just as well."

Even more anxious, both boys took off their pendants, and let them fall into the cauldron.

Yami appeared in spirit form again, blinking in surprise and then glancing down where he was standing.

"_I appear to be in a kettle, Aibou." _

Yuugi chuckled. "_You are. That is how it works." _

"_Moreover, I can´t really seem to move. You have taken the Puzzle off." _

"_Yup. If you had been paying more attention to what Professor Dumbledore was saying instead of brooding in your soul room about what´s so wrong about making me happy, you would now know how this works." _

"_Some part of me still thinks this is wrong. All these ingredients…blood, flesh…Marik stabbed the Tomb Robber…"_

"_Yeah, and I __**felt**__ you grin at this. Don´t deny it, you´re creepy yourself at times. And now please be quiet so I can listen. Oh, and try to get out of the way when I´m stirring, okay?"_

Yami raised an eyebrow at Yuugi´s sudden confidence but put it down to enthusiasm at the prospect of him having a body. He looked over at the other cauldron where Bakura was actually pretending to splash Ryou with the liquid inside the kettle. Since the thief´s fingers were as transparent as his, it didn´t have any effect, but Ryou still ducked and laughed a little nervously.

The Pharaoh could not help but smile slightly at this sight. Maybe this really was a good idea after all…

Which still didn´t make standing in a kettle any more dignified, of course.

"We can start, I think. I hope your performance now exceeds the one you usually give in my classes." Snape sneered. "Now, we will begin with the first of the ingredients. Add it to the potion and say the incantation."

Both boys extended shaky hands and dropped the dust from the envelope or respectively the white pieces from the velvet pouch into the liquid.

"_B-bone__of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!'_, they spoke stammering, but in unison.

Once more, the diamond surface of the potion hissed and broke. It erupted in sparks and turned a vivid, poisonous-looking blue.

"The next ingredient. Ryou and Marik, if I might ask you to hold out your arms. Professor Snape will assist you in this, so we might not have to resort to more _drastic_ means." Dumbledore said, eyeing the still bloody Millenium Rod pointedly.

They both extended their arms, looking at their teacher nervously.

"Severus, if you please. I don´t think more than a teaspoon should be necessary." He said cheerfully, as if he was talking about a mere cooking recipe. Marik and Ryou looked at each other and swallowed simultaneously.

The potions master drew his wand. The darker boy raised a hand.

"Is it too late to-"

"_Sectumsempra!" _

Ryou gasped. Marik yelped.

"_What have you done to my other half!" _Bakura roared from his cauldron, (reminding Yami for a absurd moment of an angry cooky monster) but of course Snape couldn´t hear him. Ryou was leaning heavily on the edge of a table, his one hand clutching the flesh underneath the axle of the arm he had extended. He looked even paler than usual, but he didn´t need to speak.

"_It´s okay. It´s just a small chunk of flesh, I´ve had worse…" _

"_Like hell! When I have my own body that butchering maniac teacher will wish he had never been born!" _

Ryou smiled.

Soon both boys had recovered and been patched up, albeit with bandages and not magic.

"I am sorry for this." Dumbledore said, "Wounds from _Sectumsempra _do not heal easily. I probably should have expected Professor Snape to use it and suggested otherwise. But what´s done is done. You should be fine as soon as we can send you to madam Pomfrey, I think. Severus, was the spell a success?"

"Of course, Sir." The head of Slytherin was levitating two small lumps with his wand, what Yuugi realized with a lurch of his stomach were ex-pieces of Ryou and Marik. He felt suddenly very queasy.

The two bits started to float towards the two students and while Ryou accepted his with a mixture of disgust and fascination, Yuugi was nearly trembling too much to take it. He doubted Yami would be very pleased if he vomited into the cauldron.

"_Aibou. You can do this."_

Yuugi looked up and saw the transparent hand of the spirit cup the one that was now holding the reddish lump of Marik´s flesh.

"_You sure?"_

"_Yes. Thank you for doing this for me. I mean it."_

"_I __**knew**__ you would want it!" _

"Yuugi?" Dumbledore intercepted his conversation. "Can we continue?"

"Yes, sir!" the boy gave a confident smile, all sickness forgotten.

Both Ryou and Yuugi exchanged a glance and then dropped the pieces into the liquid, reciting the incantation Snape had made them learn before.

"_Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master." _

Marik tsk´d as the potion turned a burning red. "Still doesn´t mean that you should get any ideas, Puzzle spirit."

"The last ingredient, please."

Ryou pulled out the stained Millenium eye and fixed it in a pair of tweezers. Yuugi reached hesitatingly for the blood-dripping Rod Marik held out to him.

The two boys took a deep breath, saying the incantation while holding the two golden items above the cauldrons.

"_Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken…_

..._you will resurrect your foe." _

They dipped the dagger and orb into the liquid.

For a moment, nothing happened and they both took the items, now clean, back out, looking confused.

Then the potion turned a blinding white.

Yuugi and Ryou, both shielding their eyes, staggered backwards. Marik´s eyes grew wide as he saw the liquid simmering, sending out diamond sparks in all directions, so searing bright that everything else was turned into velvety blackness.

Then again, nothing happened.

The two lighter halves, still holding the items, blinked and looked at the cauldrons. Had the magic failed…?

And then, suddenly the sparks from the cauldron were extinguished. A surge of white steam billowed thickly from the cauldron instead, obliterating any sight at all in the dungeon – but everyone heard it as Yuugi and Ryou both gasped and then screamed.  
The white haired boy had dropped to his knees as he suddenly felt as if dunked into white-hot molten metal and let out a strangled cry when his world dissolved into liquid pain.  
Yuugi was writhing on the floor, unable to stand the burning sensation enveloping him, shrieking as it even intensified.

"Professor!" Marik sounded highly alarmed, but couldn´t see either the adults nor his friends through the steam. "Something has gone wrong! They´re in pain!"

A hand laid on his shoulder and he looked up into the reassuring eyes of Dumbledore.

"They are, unfortunately, but it is not dangerous and it will pass. I had been worrying that this might occur, but sadly this is what happens when a part of your soul is dipped into something boiling and suddenly gets nerves to feel it."

"_It hurts! Please help me, it hurts!" _Ryou was screaming with his mind just as loud as with his voice, seeing everything through a red haze. Then there was…something…

"_Come here, you sissy. I will take the brunt of it and you shut up, how about that?"_

Bakura gritted his teeth as the pain intensified, but at least his other half had stopped wailing.

On the other side, the small runt was screaming as well, but there was no sound of the Pharaoh. He was not sure whether the procedure was working, but he knew it packed one hell of a punch either way. And then he passed out…

At the other cauldron, just as the pain was at it´s worst and Yuugi thought he´d rather _die_ than endure any longer, he felt something reach out to him…a familiar voice in his head told him everything was okay and the pain subsided almost entirely.

_"Yami…?"_

There was no reply, and Yuugi suddenly had the impression that the spirit had fallen unconcious.

Both teenagers lay panting on the floor, their breathing ragged as they tried to recover from the onslaught on their pain receptors and struggled to get up. Marik meanwhile, was crawling around looking for his Rod, cursing the still billowing steam.

Yami opened his eyes. It had suddenly been torture and then turned into agony as he tried to help Yuugi…

He closed them again and blinked, as he realized he had indeed _eyes._ He drew a sharp intake of breath and then, slowly brought his hands upwards. Tanned fingers appeared in front of his eyes as he flexed them unbelievingly. He gasped as a sudden surge of joy hit him and then a slow smile spread across his face. Yami hugged his damp chest, squeezing his eyes tight shut and relished the feeling of actual _skin_ as he ran his fingers along his legs that were crumpled underneath him where he was still sitting in…

...he realized that he was sitting in a cauldron.

The former spirit looked up and saw through a circular hole overhead the ceiling of the dungeon. He reached into his face and brushed one of the long gold bangs out of his slanted eyes, before folding his legs and flexing his toes into a position to get up.

Slightly shaky on the slippery, rounded surface of the kettle, Yami stood for the first time in five thousand years on his own feet.

Yuugi´s legs were barely strong enough to let him rise. He coughed some of the steam up and wiped the tears the pain had squeezed from his eyes off with his sleeve.

Finally, he raised his head and saw him.

"Yami!"

The Pharaoh was still standing in the cauldron and had obviously just raised himself and got his bearings. His hair was wet and even unrulier than usual, and he now sported a skin resembling Marik´s, but as his face split into a relieved smile upon seeing his lighter half unharmed, Yuugi couldn´t be more sure.

This was his Yami and he flung himself into the wonderfully solid arms of his guardian.

---

"Oh, by Ra, this hurts…" Bakura groaned. He couldn´t remember the last time he had felt so miserable. The he remembered that he couldn´t remember the last time he had felt anything at all and shot up with lightning speed.

A stream of curses echoed through the dungeon as someone apparently hit their head really hard on a cauldron wall.

Ryou smiled weakly. Judging by the obscenities, the experiment had apparently been a complete success.

He pushed himself to his feet and dared to look up with a slight feeling of trepidation.

Bakura had really changed over the last few months, but he still wasn´t a hundred percent sure of whether the spirit would now treat him any better than when they first met, now that he was no longer dependent on him. Nervously he looked at the cauldron.

Noone stood there. Confusedly he shot a sideways glance at the other side of the room, where Yugi was hugging the upper body of a taller and darker counterpart of himself, both laughing.

He stepped up to his own kettle.

"Oh…"

Bakura was still sitting at the bottom of it, clutching his head.

"Hey." Ryou ventured.

The white-haired boy jerked and glanced upwards, his fierce features somewhat relaxing as he recognized his former host.

"…it has worked." The spirit finally said.

"Yes."

A pause followed, and Bakura stood up in the waist-deep cauldron, looking at Ryou with an unfathomable expression. The smaller boy clutched his hands nervously.

"…thank you."

"…what?"

"Oh, come on, you heard me. I don´t need to repeat it." Bakura had folded his arms and was determindly looking the other way, a small tinge of red actually creeping into his cheeks.

Ryou smiled. "You´re welcome."

---

"So, it actually did the trick?" Marik had sauntered over and was wiping the Millenium Rod on his shirt.

"It has." Yami said, momentarily letting go of Yuugi. "Thank you again for the ingredient." He added, with as much dignity as one could muster from a cauldron.

"Don´t mention it. Nice complexion, by the way. Goes good with that golden Puzzle of yours, I should know." Marik gave a small grin.

"Hey, and what about Ryou?" the smaller boy asked suddenly, letting all of them turn their heads into the direction of the other kettle, just as a well-known voice cut through the rest of the steam.

"JUST WHY THE HELL AM I _WHITE?!"_

Ryou had backed against the wall while Bakura in the kettle was obviously very ticked off.

"THAT BASTARD PHARAOH HAS HIS BODY, TOO! SO WHERE IS _MY_ SKIN?! WHERE ARE MY _SCARS, _FOR THAT MATTER?! DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO BE INTIMIDATING WHEN YOU´RE A BRITISH FREAKIN _ALBINO_?! I WANT-" he suddenly grabbed his throat but only a small, choking sound emerged, his eyes bugging out, just as Dumbledore strode over, his wand still in his hand.

"I presume the venture has been successful. You seem to be in possession of two perfectly healthy bodies." His eyes twinkled, before he added: "Not to mention a perfectly healthy voice."

"Um, excuse me, sir…" Ryou took a step forward while Bakura now made definite gestures to express his wish of strangling someone.

"Yes?"

"Eh…_why_ doesn´t he have tanned skin like Yami?"

"Probably because _your_ father, whose bones we´ve used, was European, judging from your complexion. It must have changed his appearance to some extent." Snape informed them, his back still turned as he was writing some observations down. He was actually rather pleased with himself – let´s shove _that_ success down the throat of his colleagues!

"Oh." Ryou looked mildly surprised, while Bakura had resorted to silent fuming. He was also starting to get cold, dammit!

"I believe Hogwarts has gained two new students for the remainder of the year." Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Severus, if you could maybe inform the house elves to set up two new beds in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tower?"

"Of course, sir." Snape reluctantly put down his quill and went out to fetch the elf responsible for his chambers and Dumbledore smiled at them.

"Matters will take some time to…resolve. But fortunately, with the assistance of a friend of mine in the Ministry, it should be a piece of cake to get you fitted with papers and identification when you return to the muggle world. Until then, I wish you a jolly good night and welcome you back to the land of the living. I shall inform the heads of your houses that we have had a success tonight and when Severus has got hold of an elf, I´m sure they will also provide you with all the things you need for the first few days. But now we should all try to get some sleep. I´m rather tired myself and am looking forward to my special warm water bottle in my bed. Good night, you four."

"Good Night, professor." They replied (sans Bakura) and Ryou picked up the Millenium eye from the floor, while the now solid spirits retrieved their pendants from the bottom of the cauldrons. Bakura kept the ring to himself, while Yami handed the Puzzle to Yuugi, saying that it had been his ever since he assembled it.

The smaller boy took this as the cue to hug the former spirit once again and only as he felt the meanwhile cold brown skin underneath his fingers he noticed something for the first time.

"Uh…Yami…" he blushed, "You and Bakura are not actually wearing anything."

"Yeah, and everybody can see my goddamn vampire skin." Bakura grumbled, but a lot less aggressive than before. Ryou didn´t look very intimidated anymore.

The Pharaoh gave a small grin as he noticed the tint in his partner´s face.

"Yes, Aibou. That is why I haven´t yet left the kettle."

He then bend slightly forward and pulled his lighter half into a new, warming embrace as he whispered:

"But I don´t need anything as long as I´ve got you."

**_Fin_**

****

* * *

There it is! Finished and cleaned up! Well, apart from that thanks to everyone who´s reviewed so far, and I hope you are nice like Yuugi and comment, too.;) Quite a few people have this on their alerts, so I know it hasn´t been a total failure (In fact, a sort of sequel is planned)...anyway, thanks for coming with me until here and if you read, please review:) 


End file.
